The worrying threat to Portsmouth's Championship status as League One strength now a huge weakness
As Pompey survey the wreckage of yet more Championship disappointment, a worrying trend has become glaringly obvious.
Josh Brownhill’s 94th-minute strike secured Burnley a 2-1 triumph amid heartbreaking circumstances for John Mousinho’s men, yet it’s hardly a one-off.
Staggeringly, the Blues have conceded 90th-minute goals in four of their opening six league fixtures this season.
More alarming is the fact that equates to allowing five points slip through their grasp in what was always likely to be a battle to remain in the Championship.
Theoretically, had those agonising moments not occurred, Pompey could be positioned around 12th spot, level on eight points with Norwich and Bristol City. Instead they are second from bottom.
To put that into context, during their entire League One title-winning season, Mousinho’s side dropped five points courtesy of 90th-minute goals.
They have already reached that same tally by mid-September in the current campaign as they adjust to challenges at this level.
For a 35-year-old outstanding professional armed with extensive Premier League and international experience to have produced such a naivety is truly startling.
Yet from Owen Moxon’s clumsy penalty area challenge at Middlesbrough to Leeds’ Joel Piroe being granted the freedom to drive at the defence and slip in Brenden Aaronson, there is no sole culprit behind this ongoing issue.
In fairness, Alex Mowatt’s 92nd-minute goal for West Brom in a game they had already won was a sublime free-kick after referee Lee Doughty had incorrectly awarded a foul against Marlon Park.
Regardless of circumstance and culpability, however, the brutal truth is Pompey have relinquished five points to date and, considering how the season is beginning to develop, these could be priceless in avoiding relegation.
Mousinho may wish to focus on the glass half full and applaud his team for hauling themselves into such strong positions that they’re contemplating wins at Leeds and Middlesbrough, along with a fine Turf Moor point.
How the Championship would have sat bolt upright and taken notice of these new upstarts had those precariously-balanced results been safely seen out.
Yet rather than basking in seven points from that trio of tough away fixtures, the Blues have ended up with two and are still searching for a maiden win of the campaign in any competition.
Not long ago, Mousinho’s troops were the comeback kings and last-minute specialists, with an improbable 12 goals netted in the final six minutes of matches last season.
That remarkable tally includes six arriving on 90 minutes and beyond, overall totalling an additional 10 points and the League One title.
In contrast, Conor McGrandles (Charlton) and James Henry (Oxford United) each struck in the 90th minute to earn their clubs late, late draws, while Luke Thomas nicked a victory for Bristol Rovers.
Admittedly, those five dropped points failed to derail Pompey’s charge to the League One crown and securing promotion by 10 points.
However, in the current climate, unless somehow swiftly addressed, such carelessness could herald a swift return to Exeter, Stevenage, Leyton Orient and Burton.